Organizers Shocked

Festival Evacuated After Bomb Threat

The grounds had to be evacuated following a threat. (Stock photo)(Bild: patsch.1 - stock.adobe.com)

Since 2012, it has been the highlight of the year in the small Innviertel community of Taiskirchen (Upper Austria). The Free Tree Open Air attracts not only many visitors but also international acts. But on Saturday came the shock: Several anonymous threats were received by phone—the grounds had to be evacuated.

“The open-air festival is part of our community. All the clubs and the people have been working together for four weeks, and then this happens,” says Johann Gattermaier, clearly shocked. The chairman of the cultural association, which has been organizing the Free Tree since 2012, is at a loss. But what happened?

Threat with a Distorted Voice
Around 9:40 p.m., several anonymous calls came in to the event’s information hotline. A distorted voice answered and made threats. “We immediately activated the emergency plan,” Gattermaier explains.

Within a few minutes, emergency responders evacuated 3,000 people from the grounds without any major commotion. “Everything was very calm and orderly,” says Gattermaier, praising the fans and the cooperation with the police, fire department, and emergency medical services. The grounds were then searched. This took until 2 a.m. Nothing was found, but continuing the event was out of the question.

Enormous Damage
However, the organizers decided to start again on Sunday. “Anyone with a Saturday ticket can come in for free. We owe that to the visitors,” says Gattermaier. But one question keeps nagging at him: “Who would do something like this, and why? I can’t imagine it came from a local resident, because everyone in the community lives for the festival.” Now the organizers are hoping the person making the threats will be tracked down, as the financial damage is enormous.